The present invention relates chip-resistant films for protecting various surfaces against the phenomenon in which pebbles, small objects and the like on roads are bounced up by wheels to impinge upon automobile bodies to damage coated surfaces of the bodies while the automobiles are running.
For exterior cladding of automobiles, steel plates or resin materials that are molded and covered on their surfaces with a coating or the like are widely used. Among them, those on the side and underside of the bodies are likely to develop scratches, cracks, dents and the like on the coated surfaces of the steel plates and exterior parts due to impingement or the like of hard objects such as rocks bounced up by tires while running.
In order to prevent such scratches, cracks, dents and the like from occurring on the surfaces, chip-resistant coating has conventionally been carried out using vinyl chloride-based sols. Such sols may, however, produce dioxin when they are incinerated. Also, chip-resistant films made of urethane-based substrates that are covered with a fluorine coating are applied over coated surfaces to protect the surfaces. The raw materials and the coating are, however, expensive, thereby rendering the chip-resistant films expensive. Due to such restrictions in cost, therefore, they can not be applied to all the portions where scratches, cracks, dents or the like are likely to develop on the surfaces and are often used only partly, suffering from substantial problems.
Patent Reference 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1997-277379